Chapter 61.2

In the evening, Li Xiao stayed at the hospital to keep watch by the bed, while Jiang Rou took the child back home. The next morning, Jin Dayou arrived.

He went straight to the hospital. When Jiang Rou arrived to bring breakfast, she saw him standing at the door of the ward—trembling as he looked inside.

Seeing Jiang Rou approach, Jin Dayou choked out, “Sister-in-law.”

His eyes were red and swollen.

Jiang Rou felt a pang of sympathy. While the abducted Jin Dapeng was pitiable, Jin Dayou, as his younger brother, was no less deserving of compassion.

Since his elder brother was abducted, Jin Dayou has never seen his parents again. The only family left was him and his elderly grandfather and grandmother. He had worked hard in school, perhaps hoping to make something of himself and find his parents and brother someday.

But he was only twenty years old this year. While others at twenty were filled with hope, Jin Dayou’s twenty was burdened with too many problems.

Li Xiao approached and patted his shoulder. “You should eat something first.”

Jin Dayou followed him to the corridor chairs. Jiang Rou handed them the lunch boxes she had brought. Li Xiao usually had a big appetite, so Jiang Rou had brought three lunch boxes, just enough to give one to Jin Dayou.

Jin Dayou took the food and ate—tears streaming down his face as he did.

Jiang Rou, worried about the awkwardness of lingering there, took An An and left.

After they had gone, Jin Dayou sobbed, “I used to hate my parents. I’m their son too. Why did they never come back to see me? But later, I stopped hating them. After hearing about the fate of children who were abducted, I hoped they would find my brother and we could all live a normal life together again.”

“But then, my brother couldn’t be found, my father gave up on remarrying, and my mother also disappeared. I thought it’s okay, I’ll grow up, and when I do, I’ll find my brother. But I never expected my mother to end up like this. It’s not that she didn’t want to come back; she just doesn’t remember anything…”

When Aunt Shi in the hospital room woke up, Jin Dayou entered. Hearing from Li Xiao that his mother remembered nothing, he braced himself for the situation. However, when he called out “Mom,” the woman on the bed immediately had tears well up in her eyes.

She sat up in bed, her mind seemed to have a brief moment of clarity as she fixed her gaze on him—her lips trembling, unable to form words, only able to make sounds like “Ah… ah ah…”

Jin Dayou’s eyes reddened again. “Mom, I’m Dayou. Do you remember me?”

The woman kept opening her mouth, making sounds: “Ah ah… ah ah ah…”

Her face was filled with pain and disbelief as she looked at him.

Jin Dayou went over and hugged her tightly, struggling to lift his head and look at the ceiling, but the tears in his eyes wouldn’t stop.

After being embraced, the woman cried loudly, her whole body trembling. It took her a long time to say a complete sentence. “Dayou… Dayou, you’ve grown so much… Dayou, I didn’t find your brother… Mom is useless…”

“It’s alright, I’m here. I’ll find my brother.”

—o—o—o—

Jin Dayou spent two days in the hospital taking care of his mother. Aunt Shi’s mental state remained somewhat unclear; sometimes she vaguely recognized people, and other times she didn’t remember anything at all. However, when facing Jin Dayou, she acted differently, she had moments of clarity.

When Jin Dayou was about to leave, Li Xiao asked about his plans. Since Jiang Rou studied medicine, Li Xiao knew that merely finishing four years of university wasn’t enough; one needed to continue studying, at least through a graduate program.

Jin Dayou hadn’t thought much about it and said he planned to take his mother to the provincial capital.

Li Xiao frowned. “You’re in your senior year. If you’re preparing for graduate school, will you be able to take care of her? Here, a new nursing home has opened, and I know some people there. I’ll arrange for your mother to stay there. We won’t talk about the money for now. You should focus on preparing for your exams. I’ll make time to visit her every week, so Aunt Shi won’t be neglected.”

“I’ve already visited the nursing home. It’s very good there, with dedicated caregivers and three nutritious meals a day.”

Jin Dayou looked at him gratefully and said, “Brother.”

Li Xiao patted his shoulder. “We’re all brothers here. No need to mention that. Focus on your studies. Once you finish, you can give your mom a better life and find your brother…”

Hearing about his brother, Jin Dayou forced a grim smile. “Our country is so vast. Where would we even begin to search? If he was sold to another family, that would be one thing, but if he was…”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought.

Li Xiao squeezed his shoulder. In truth, he didn’t have much hope left either. When Jin Dayou’s brother was abducted, he was seven years old and aware of things; if he had been sold, he should have been able to find his way back.

When Jiang Rou learned about Li Xiao’s plans, she said nothing. She knew well that, in Li Xiao’s eyes, Zhou Jian and Jin Dayou were like brothers to him—brothers who were even more precious than his “real” family.

Especially on the day Jin Dayou came, after returning home, Li Xiao had told Jiang Rou something that left a deep impression on her. “When I was young, I thought everyone’s parents were the same, but then I realized, it seemed like only mine were different.”

When Jiang Rou looked at him, he gave a faint smile, with an air of adult resignation and calm. “It’s all in the past now.”

Indeed, to the current Li Xiao, everything was in the past. But to the young Li Xiao, it must have been a deep-seated pain.

Jiang Rou wasn’t sure how to comfort him. No matter what she said, she was only a bystander and couldn’t truly understand the regrets he felt.

Thinking this, Jiang Rou decided to visit the mall during her free time on Wednesday afternoon. Since the school was having a major cleaning session and Jiang Rou didn’t live on campus, she didn’t need to clean the dormitory.

Previously, she had spent Wednesday afternoons at the library, but this time she wanted to buy a gift for Li Xiao.

Jiang Rou wasn’t particularly skilled at romantic gestures. The most she had done was buy a pen or a tie for Li Xiao’s birthday. She had never thought of buying gifts for him otherwise.

Li Xiao had given her gifts before, but they were usually not very stylish. Jiang Rou had kept them safely but never worn them.

Jiang Rou didn’t pick up An An from kindergarten, mainly because the little one wanted everything she saw, and Jiang Rou was afraid of spending all her money.

She wandered from the first to the fifth floor of the mall, eventually spending a substantial amount on two rings. She had initially considered buying a watch, but good watches were quite expensive, and she didn’t want to settle for a lesser one. Since Li Xiao was now a small business owner, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to wear something cheap. For business, appearance mattered a lot.

She found a pair of cloud-patterned gold rings. The rings were not very thick; they were simple bands with a small area engraved with a cloud pattern—simple yet elegant.

Jiang Rou had the salesperson bring out the rings for her to try. The smaller one fit perfectly on her ring finger, while the larger one almost fit her thumb. Jiang Rou wasn’t sure of Li Xiao’s finger size, but it was definitely thicker than hers.

She bought both rings, wore the smaller one herself, and had the larger one packed in a box. She then put it in her pocket and went to find Li Xiao.

—o—o—o—

When she arrived at the factory office, Li Xiao was not there. Jiang Rou then sat in his place, picked up a book to read, and by the time he returned, she had unknowingly fallen asleep on the desk.

Li Xiao did not expect Jiang Rou to come by. He instructed his assistant, who had been following him, to leave and walked over to Jiang Rou’s side. He picked up a cup from the desk and drank some water while standing next to the desk, watching her.

Noticing that there was something bulging from her pocket, with a corner of it sticking out—it looked like a small box, so he did not think much of it. He gently took it out and saw a small red velvet box. Upon opening it, he saw a golden ring inside.

Li Xiao raised his eyebrows, took the ring out, and immediately recognized that it was not Jiang Rou’s size. Her fingers were not that thick. Looking at her hands, he saw that she was wearing an identical ring on the fourth finger of her left hand.

As he seemed to understand something, Li Xiao curved his lips into a smile.

He put down the cup and tried the ring on his own left hand in the same position. It was a bit tight, but it could be worn.

—o—o—o—

When Jiang Rou woke up, she found that Li Xiao had already returned and was sitting on a nearby sofa, flipping through documents. Feeling a bit stiff, she stretched and weakly asked, “What time is it?”

Li Xiao glanced at his watch and said, “It’s three-thirty.”

Having slept a bit too long, Jiang Rou shifted to a different position on the desk, feeling reluctant to move.

Li Xiao looked at her, quickened his pace with his work, and said, “Wait for me for another twenty minutes. Later, we’ll go pick up An An and have dinner outside.”

Jiang Rou lifted her head, propped her chin on her hand, and then, as if she thought of something, stood up and walked over to him.

When she sat next to him, she took on a mysterious expression and said, “Close your eyes.”

Li Xiao tilted his head— he had a smile on his face, and asked, “What’s going on?”

Jiang Rou replied impatiently, “Just close your eyes, why are you asking so many questions?”

Li Xiao obediently closed his eyes.

Satisfied by his obedience, took out the box from her pocket and reached for his left hand. As she opened the b Jiang Rou took out the box to put the ring on him—however, she was surprised to find that the golden ring was missing. “Huh? Where is my ring?”

She felt around in her other pockets but could not find the ring. Just as she was getting anxious, she suddenly heard the man beside her chuckle.

What was there not to understand? Annoyed, she pushed him and asked, “Did you take it?”

Unable to help herself, she asked, “Why did you hide the ring?”

Jiang Rou had originally wanted to give him a surprise, but that feeling was instantly gone. As expected, he was a complete romance killer.

To think he had even hidden it away. Didn’t he know how to pretend not to know anything?

Feeling too lazy to explain, she directly said, “Don’t you like gold? So I got you gold.”

Li Xiao didn’t understand, but he nodded, thinking it made sense. “Next time, I’ll get you a thicker one; this one is too thin.”

“……”

—o—o—o—

A few days later, while Li Xiao was out having dinner with someone, he heard him talking about how people nowadays like to wear wedding rings, and they said how it symbolizes a lifetime commitment to each other.

Then, they proceeded to tease him a bit about the ring on his ring finger.

When Li Xiao got home, he couldn’t help but ask Jiang Rou, “Did you give me the ring to signify a lifetime commitment to me?”

Jiang Rou denied it: “No, I just thought it was pretty and bought it.”

Li Xiao laughed, knowing she was just being stubborn.

He touched the ring on his ring finger.

Originally, he was thinking of buying a thicker and more expensive one, but now he felt that this one was perfect.

He planned to wear it for a lifetime.

—o—o—o—

In early April, Jiang Rou took An An to visit Aunt Shi at the nursing home. Li Xiao had bought Aunt Shi a phone so that Jin Dayou could call her every day.

Perhaps because the environment at the nursing home was good, Aunt Shi had been looking much better recently. She would also sit in the corner listening when others were chatting.

Jiang Rou spent some time with Aunt Shi, and An An, who really liked Aunt Shi, brought her some drawings he had made. Aunt Shi looked at the drawings with a faint smile on her face.

It was Saturday. After having lunch, Jiang Rou took An An to her piano lesson.

Recently, Li Xiao unexpectedly bought a piano—which by the way quite expensive. He claimed that a friend had offered it to him at a discounted internal price.

To avoid wasting the piano, he enrolled An An in a piano class. Every Saturday afternoon, Jiang Rou had to take An An for piano lessons. Jiang Rou couldn’t tell if An An had any musical talent, but she could sense that An An had developed quite a resentment toward his father recently.

However, the class was already signed up for and the money was spent, so they had to finish the term.

While waiting for the bus, Jiang Rou received a phone call from Aunt Wang.

Jiang Rou hadn’t chatted with Aunt Wang for several days and was about to catch up with her, but Aunt Wang quickly said, “Something happened at your mother-in-law’s place. Be careful these days; she might come looking for you.”

Jiang Rou frowned and asked, “What happened?”

Aunt Wang, sounding angry, replied, “What else could it be? It’s He Wenhua. That kid is truly shameless—married and with a child at home, but still fooling around outside. I heard that he had been interning at a high school in the province and was involved with a female teacher there, whose family had some influence. If nothing unexpected happened, he was supposed to get a permanent position. His whole family knew about it but kept it from He Wenhua’s wife.”

“It was a few days ago that your mother-in-law and He Wenying had a fight. He Wenying, seeing that the sister-in-law favored Lin Meiru, revealed the affair in a fit of anger. It became a huge mess. He Wenhua’s wife rushed home with the child that night, and then her family came with weapons and raided the He family’s home. He Wenhua’s wife even found some thugs and went to He Wenhua’s internship school in the province, beat up the female teacher, and called her a vixen.”

“This caused a scandal in the province and even made the newspapers. Because of this, He Wenhua’s girlfriend broke up with him, and he lost his job.”

“You don’t know how badly He Wenhua beat his sister. I’ve never seen him like that—he looked like a madman.”

Aunt Wang shuddered as she recalled the scene. She had heard the commotion and went over to see that He Wenhua was smashing his sister’s head against the wall, with blood everywhere, as if he wanted to kill her.

The whole family was terrified, except for He Wenhua’s wife, who stood to the side with a cold smile, as if pleased that the entire family was suffering because of her.

“The He family definitely went too far. Because of this incident, He Wenhua has also started to resent your mother-in-law. His wife’s family even beat up He Tieshan badly. He Wenying left with her husband and child, and He Wenhua left as well. Now, only your mother-in-law and that unfortunate daughter-in-law are left at home. They argue every day, and the unfortunate daughter-in-law even physically assaulted your mother-in-law. Your mother-in-law even came to me, implying that she might come to stay with you.”

Jiang Rou responded with a silence, feeling a mix of emotions. She had never thought about them in good times, but now that something had happened, Lin Meiru was suddenly remembering she had a biological son.

Jiang Rou knew Aunt Wang was just giving them a heads-up, so she gratefully said, “Thank you, Aunt. I’ll remember this and talk to Li Xiao about it later.”

Aunt Wang replied, “Your mother-in-law isn’t worth sympathizing with. If she comes over, she could ruin your good life. You should talk to Li Xiao properly and avoid any arguments.”

Jiang Rou felt warmed by her concern and agreed.

But she didn’t mention that Li Xiao was even more resistant to the situation with Lin Meiru than she was.

—o—o—o—

Jiang Rou took An An to the piano teacher’s house. While An An was learning to play, Jiang Rou called Li Xiao. Upon hearing about Lin Meiru, Li Xiao sneered and said, “She’s overestimating herself. She wouldn’t dare come here. She hasn’t even been to the provincial capital; how would she come all the way here alone? She said because she wanted to scare her good daughter-in-law.”

Jiang Rou hesitated, “Should we inform Brother Wang? It’s not good if your mother keeps getting beaten.”

“There’s no need. That woman won’t dare go too far. The child she had isn’t He Wenhua’s.”

“……”

Jiang Rou paused, realizing she had heard Li Xiao mention this before. She couldn’t help but think, if He Wenhua ever found out, he would probably be furious enough to spit blood. This woman not only cheated on him but also ruined his job and future.

Li Xiao, who wasn’t very concerned about family matters, shifted the topic and asked what she was doing.

Jiang Rou responded irritably, “I’m just accompanying our daughter for piano lessons. I don’t know why you bought that thing, it’s just causing trouble for An An and me.”

On the other end of the line, Li Xiao rubbed his nose and said, trying to sound appeasing, “I’ll cook dinner tonight.”

“For the next week, it’s all on you.”

“Okay.”

After ending the call, Li Xiao looked at the ring on his ring finger, his lips curling into a slight smile.